Government to raise electricity tax in February 2025: what impact will it have on your bill ?

La facture va-t-elle monter ou descendre ? Pour les clients, c’est un vrai casse-tête. MAXPPP - Sebastien JARRY

L’exécutif promet une baisse de 9 % de la facture des clients au tarif réglementés. Et les autres ? Explications…

The end of the tariff shield. The finance bill presented on Thursday, October 10 by the government reveals the new increase in an electricity tax that will come into effect from February 1. A measure supposed to generate 3 billion euros in revenue but which, paradoxically, will not cause a surge in the bill for individuals. The executive even promises “a 9% drop” for customers with regulated tariffs. Explanations.

A TICFE around 50 € per MWh

As revealed by Le Parisien last weekend, Bercy is working "on an increase in the Domestic Final Consumption Tax on Electricity (TICFE) beyond the 32.44 € per megawatt hour, which was the level of taxation before the inflationary crisis".It had been lowered to just 1 euro to ease the burden on French people in the face of the explosion in prices that followed the war in Ukraine (a record of 1,000 euros in August 2022 compared to 40 to 50 euros before the crisis), but in the context of falling inflation and the end of the tariff shield, this TICFE had been raised to 21 euros. the MWh in February 2024 and the previous government intended to bring it back to its pre-energy crisis level on 1 February 2025.

Michel Barnier has therefore decided to go further in the face of France's abysmal deficit, “a range around 50 € per MWh“, estimated the Ministry of Economy, justifying this choice by the decline in electricity prices on the markets, currently between 60 and 70%. As a consequence for the 20 million individuals subscribed to the regulated tariff, the reduction in the bill should therefore be around 9%, instead of the 15% previously promised by the former Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire. "That's about 110 € less on average on the annual bill", promises Bercy.

And for the others ?

And for the others ? The 12 million customers who have subscribed to a market offer indexed to the regulated tariff should see a similar change in the amount of their bill, according to Sylvain Le Falher, co-founder of the HelloWatt comparator, relayed by BFMTV.

In On the other hand, for the remaining 20% ​​who are not subject to the regulated tariff, the bill could be steep. This will be the case for contracts whose rates vary according to changes in electricity prices, or users who have opted for a fixed-price offer but whose contract allows the supplier to play on the cost of the subscription or taxes. The increase could then be much higher than 5%. For these, the Ministry of the Budget and Public Accounts has reminded that the law allows you to switch to regulated tariffs, simply by signing a new contract. It is advisable, beforehand, to carefully compare the different offers?